Echo of Forever
by andyourbirdcanswing
Summary: When Hermione sees her two loves about to duel, she must stop them and make a choice between the boy who made all the wrong choices and the boy with the scar.
1. Chapter 1

Bushy hair flying behind her, Hermione ran down the corridor, away from the two men for whom she had fallen hopelessly in love. Or lust.

_Do they know? If not, why were they standing there together, wands ready for duel?_ _They can't possibly know. I've been so careful! _

These thoughts raced through her head as she ran through the Gryffindor common room, to the sanctuary of her dormitory. Here, no male could physically reach her, even though they both plagued her thoughts and heart.

The boy with the white-blond hair and the boy with the scar, wands aloft, stayed in her head all that night as she tried desperately to sleep.

Sixth year had started out so normally for Hermione. She found out over the summer that she had earned ten OWLs, nine of which were "Outstanding" marks (it would have been all ten, but damn that boggart in Defense Against the Dark Arts). Ron had made fun of her for being upset, but she hadn't really minded. Her feelings for Ronald had come to the surface more, especially since the fiasco at the Ministry of Magic. When she had awoken from Dolohov's curse, all she could wonder was where Ron was, and if he was okay. The brain that attacked him in the Department of Mysteries hadn't done lasting damage, thank Merlin.

She was hoping that since feelings for Ron were making themselves known, she would let go of those that she had developed for her other best friend, the boy who was like a brother to her. She wasn't sure why she had such strong feelings for Harry now, but they were there and they weren't about to leave her anytime soon, much to her chagrin.

But really, who wouldn't like Harry if they knew him as well as Hermione did? He was loyal, caring, and not to mention exceptionally handsome since he had gotten so tall. And he had been through so much…her heart broke every time she thought about the look on his face when Sirius, his godfather, was mentioned. They all missed him, but Sirius had been like a father to Harry the past couple of years. It didn't seem fair that Bellatrix had taken Sirius from him, but he was still determined to defeat the Dark wizards, and Hermione just wanted to hold him and make him forget about everything that had happened.

However, he seemed to be distracting himself well with wondering what Draco Malfoy was up to. Hermione knew that some of Malfoy's actions were suspicious, but she felt that all Slytherins were slimy and Harry just held a grudge against Draco, especially since seeing him in Diagon Alley over the summer.

Hermione had also noticed Harry's recent affinity for the youngest Weasley, Ginny on the Hogwarts Express. While she felt a pang of jealousy, she knew that Ginny had been in love with Harry since the day she met him on the platform, and being one of Ginny's best friends Hermione respected it. All the same though…she would rather not face Harry's looks at Ginny when she herself still felt so strongly for him.

As she and Ron walked into the castle after exiting the carriages (Ron walking more closely than he used to, she noted), she fretted about where Harry could be.

"What if he's hurt? What if Malfoy hexed him and left him on the train and nobody has any idea? He was wearing the Invisibility Cloak! For heaven's sake, he's reckless sometimes.."

Ron looked pained. "Hermione, I'm sure he's fine! He's Harry bloody Potter, and if You-Know-Who can't kill him, do you really think Malfoy can do much harm?"

At this, Hermione relaxed slightly. She did notice that Ginny had been listening in on their conversation, and was also perturbed at Harry's absence. "But what would we do if something had happened?" Ginny asked quietly, more to herself than anyone else. Ron had not heard her, and Hermione chose not to answer so that she did not have to think about it.

Finally, Harry appeared in the Great Hall, his nose looking slightly different, and a bit of dried blood on his face. Both Hermione and Ginny looked at him with concern, but Ron just kept on eating (as per usual). As Harry tells his friends the events that transpired on the train, Hermione looked at him in horror. _Malfoy _did this? So cruelly, without a thought?

"Well, it could have been worse," Hermione said lightly as they discussed the events later that evening in the common room.

"I suppose." Harry had been eerily quiet after telling them what had happened. Hermione wondered what else was going through his head when he gave her a small smile. "Lucky Tonks was there to find me, else I'd be hijacking a flying car again to get to school."

Hermione laughed and nudged him jokingly. How was he able to stay so strong? Everything that happened to him would have done her in by now, and he just kept going, kept pushing towards the future. Oh, how she admired that quality.

"Well, I'd best be getting to bed. Full schedule tomorrow, you know," she said as she stood and stretched.

"Hermione, you've never had anything _but _a full schedule. Have you ever thought of how relaxing a free period might be? Ron and I have one instead of Potions, and I couldn't be more thrilled."

She contemplated it, but shook her head. "I'm anxious to have a class with Slughorn, to be honest! It's exciting, having a professor for Potions that doesn't loathe Gryffindors."

Harry and Ron laughed, but were still enjoying the thought of a free period. None of the trio, however, were looking forward to Defense of the Dark Arts with Snape. They all bid each other good night and separated into the girls' and boys' dormitories.

The next day, Hermione awoke a few hours before breakfast was to be served. She had always loved and excelled in classes, so she quickly got ready, gathered her books, and exited the dorm for a morning walk around the castle. There were so very few times that the corridors were empty, and she relished having the hallways to herself.

That is, until she ran into the blond that had smashed her best friend's nose the previous night.

"Fancy meeting you so early, Granger." Malfoy smirked as she nearly collided into the broad-shouldered Slytherin. Flustered, she tried to make her way around the tall boy, but was unsuccessful. He continually moved to block her path.

"If you will excuse me, Malfoy. I'd like to get to breakfast," she spat indignantly. Normally she was much more tolerant of him, especially more so than her best friends, but considering that Malfoy had broken Harry's nose yesterday, she was not in an accommodating mood. Malfoy noticed this, much to her frustration, but did not seem bothered.

"If you're upset about me breaking Potter's nose and leaving him yesterday, I believe that you should remember that I owed one of you…would you rather it be you?" he smirked. Hermione remembered back to her third year, when he had punched Malfoy straight in the nose after he had essentially caused the assassination of a hippogriff, Buckbeak.

"You deserved it. That was foul, to laugh about the execution of an innocent animal. And if you don't move, I may be forced to cause another broken bone."

Malfoy sneered. "Doubtful, Little-Miss-Prefect. Not until I push you to the edge again." He came closer to her face, leaning in almost until their noses were touching. "And I look forward to that day…" he whispered, giving her chills. Her spine stiffened as he straightened up and smirked at her, finally letting her pass.

Hermione didn't know what to do with herself. She was flustered that he had been so close to her and that he was taunting her but she also had a different feeling. Were those butterflies?

No. This was Malfoy. There was no way. He had tormented her and her best friends for five years, even causing the capture of their group, Dumbledore's Army. He was just trying to get to her, in a new way this time.

But she couldn't ignore those butterflies.


	2. Chapter 2

_**I started out writing this wanting to keep to Half-Blood Prince framework the best that I could…but now I feel as if I need to move away from that storyline and timeline in order to make the story work. There may be snippets of things that line up, but for the most part the timing will be different from JK's flawless book. Along those lines, none of these characters are mine (obviously). Also, this is my first story…so don't judge me too harshly!**_

* * *

><p>In the weeks following her encounter with Malfoy, Hermione did her best to keep him out of her thoughts. During their shared Potions class, she determinedly kept her mind on her own potion and tried not to look over at the blond. However, it became harder and harder each day. She wondered what he was doing when she wasn't around him and hated herself for wanting to know.<p>

Hermione had never been one to be infatuated with or distracted by members of the opposite sex. Even when Viktor Krum, a world-famous Quidditch player, showed interest in her, she hadn't let it keep her from helping Harry or keeping up with her studies. She was too focused on the future, too involved in the fight against Voldemort to let boys get under her skin. That was before that first morning in the hallway with Malfoy, though.

Every time since then when he saw her in the Great Hall, he would smirk at her, as if he knew something that she didn't. It was infuriating! Wasn't it just a few years ago that he had first called her a Mudblood, making her cry and almost making her wish she hadn't come to the magical school? Why did she care so much what he was up to?

She had moved past this insult, but he had always annoyed her. Up to this point though, she had thought it was just his arrogant personality and swagger. Now she realized that it wasn't fair that someone with such a foul demeanor should be so good looking. With his perfectly groomed white-blond hair, broad shoulders, and constant smirk, he was enough to make any girl look twice, most likely more. Hermione had always overcome this though, until their close proximity had forced her to notice more about him. She hated it.

She also hated the way he plagued her thoughts, even to the point where she was not thinking about Harry or Ron as much as she used to. This was possibly a plus, but not when the new object of her thoughts was _Draco Malfoy_. Honestly.

At the start of October, Hermione had resigned herself to not think about him, or his stupid blond perfect hair. That is, until Advanced Potions that Monday.

"All right class," Slughorn exclaimed, clapping his hands gleefully. "I will be pairing you up today so that we don't have the same people slacking off while their partners do most of the mixing." He looked knowingly at Ron, who often partnered with Hermione because she was so talented in Potions, or with Harry, because he had the most helpful Potions book. Ron looked away from Slughorn, perhaps in hope that the professor was not talking about him, and would pair him with one of his friends.

"Let's have Mr. Weasley and… Ms. Brown," Slughorn said thoughtfully, and Ron begrudgingly left Harry and Hermione's table to join the giggly sixth-year. "And in the spirit of mixing things up, let's have Mr. Potter and Ms. Patil." Parvati Patil rolled her eyes, having lost all interest in Harry after he abandoned her at the Yule Ball in their fourth year. Harry made his way over to Parvati's table.

"Also, let's have Ms. Granger and… Mr. Malfoy." Hermione looked up, mouth agape, and Malfoy smirked at her.

_No, no, no, _she thought, _this isn't good. _As Malfoy made his way over to her table, he eyed her entire form; _probably to make me uncomfortable, _she thought. She wished it wasn't working, but she flinched as she could feel his eyes raking over every inch of her. _Why didn't I do my hair today? _She toyed with the bushy mess she had pulled back into a loose ponytail as she normally did in classes. _Don't be stupid! You don't do your hair for Malfoy!_

As he took his seat beside her, she scooted her chair a couple of inches away from him. He noticed, and looked as if he was about to speak when Slughorn clapped his hands, having paired up the rest of the class.

"Today we will be brewing the Beautification Potion. This potion is not too complicated, but parts of it are very finicky so you will have to pay close attention, especially when adding the gurdyroots….make sure they are put in at exactly the right time!" Slughorn smiled and began to make his way around the room to answer questions.

"Beautification Potion, eh?" Malfoy quipped. "I wonder who could use one of those…"

Hermione flushed at this. Why was he doing this? They had to work together, they might as well avoid snipping at each other's heels. She stated this, and Malfoy just stared at her.

"Well? What do you think? I personally don't like you, but I'd rather not have to bite your head off every while working on this dumb potion," she mumbled. Malfoy just smiled, a genuine smile instead of his signature smirk.

"Very well, Granger." He seemed to know the effect he had on her, and instead of taunting her with his words, throughout the class period he delighted in getting closer and closer to her, touching her whenever he could and making her flustered.

"Could you just move away, please!" she exclaimed when she dropped the lacewing flies she was about to add as he grazed the back of her hand with his. He complied, but continued to stare at her as she read the directions given in _Advanced Potion-Making._

"You know, Granger," he said thoughtfully, as he looked her up and down, "I hadn't noticed before, being a pureblood and all, but you're rather fit, aren't you?"

She blushed unwillingly. "I don't see how that matters to you, Malfoy."

"Oh, normally it wouldn't. But seeing as how we'll be partners for Potions from now on…I like to take an interest in the people I work with."

"From now on?" she exclaimed, alarmed. "I thought it was just for this potion, just for today!"

Malfoy frowned. "Oh, perhaps that was Slughorn's plan…hmm." And he was, thankfully, silent for the rest of the class. Hermione was relieved.

Until they turned in their near-perfect Beautification Potion (that Malfoy had not contributed to once). Hermione was packing up her books and supplies when she heard Malfoy call out to the professor: "Oh, Professor Slughorn?"

"Yes, m'boy?" Slughorn answered him, distracted by taking up and marking down the potions.

"I was just thinking, it was a wonderful idea on your part to pair us up with people we don't normally work with…I thought that maybe we could stay in these pairs for the rest of term. Just to learn how to work better with others. Don't you think?"

Slughorn considered him thoughtfully. "Why, Mr. Malfoy, that is a splendid idea! Class, you heard the dear boy. These will be your partnerships for the rest of term, so for the next class work on an essay with your partner about the Beautification Potion today, its benefits and disadvantages, and how your potion could have been better." With this statement, he eyed Ron and Lavender, whose potion had turned a murky brown instead of the hot pink color it was supposed to be. Ron cast his eyes downward and Lavender just giggled.

"Oh, and Malfoy," Slughorn added in a slightly lower tone, "why don't you join us for our next dinner party? I'll have an invitation sent to you when we set a date."

Malfoy grinned, much to Hermione's dismay. She could not believe what was happening. This _could not _be happening! "I would love that, Professor. I will be sure to accept."

Then he turned towards her. He winked at her mischievously, and whispered in her ear as he passed her on his way out the door.

"I guess we'll be seeing much more of each other after all."


	3. Chapter 3

Later that day, after her partnership with Malfoy in Potions, Hermione was still acting unusually. She hoped that Harry and Ron hadn't noticed, but unfortunately, Harry chose that day to be perceptive.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry asked at lunch, concern flashing through his green eyes as he tried to figure out what was distressing his friend.

"What? No, I'm fine!" Hermione exclaimed as she knocked over her goblet of pumpkin juice. She quickly muttered, "scourgify" to clean up her mess and cursed herself for her clumsiness. "I just didn't sleep too well last night, that's all." Harry wasn't buying it though. He covered her hand with his, demanding she look at him.

"Hermione." She tried to avoid his gaze, but found it impossible. When she finally looked him in the eye, he said, "We're your best friends. You know you can tell us anything, right?"

She nodded, smiling slightly. "I know. I guess I just let Malfoy get to me in Potions."

With this statement, Harry jumped to his feet, knocking over his own pumpkin juice. "Damn," he muttered, using the same spell to clean it up. "What did he say? Did he call you a…you know…"

"Oh, no! It's more the fact that he didn't say anything particularly nasty, is all. I'm just wondering what he's up to."

Harry grinned at her. "Finally into the spying on Malfoy game? Here, we can go back up to the common room later and I'll grab the map, and we can-"

"Harry James Potter! You know I am not going to _spy _on Malfoy! His behavior was just _curious_ is all. I'm fine. Ron, are you okay?" she said, noticing that their redheaded friend had not contributed to the conversation. However, he did not seem flustered, as Hermione did. He was staring at the wall in front of them, with a dreamy expression on his face.

"What?" he said, looking around him as if he did not recognize where he was.

"You haven't touched your food, mate," Harry noticed. This was especially strange, as Ron had the biggest appetite of the three, or maybe anyone in the castle (save maybe Crabbe and Goyle).

"Oh, right. No, I'm good. I think I'll go upstairs now," he said as he noticed Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil exiting the Great Hall. He grabbed a couple of rolls, downed his goblet of pumpkin juice in one gulp, and started towards the door.

"You don't think…"

"I suppose anything is possible," Hermione admitted. "Maybe these Potions partnerships will make for an especially interesting term."

"Not mine!" Harry snorted. "Parvati won't say a word to me unless it's to tell me what I've done wrong. Clearly she hasn't forgotten fourth year. She really shouldn't be complaining though…at least she found some Beauxbatons boy to dance with, I ended up in a shrubbery eavesdropping with Ron…"

At this, the two laughed and began reminiscing about that night at the Yule Ball, until they were doubled over laughing about Ron's frilly dress robes and how much hair-smoothing potion Hermione had used to tame her unruly locks.

Hermione stopped laughing though, as she looked across the Hall at the Slytherin table. She had caught boys staring at her before, but she was frightened by the intensity with which Malfoy was gazing at her. It were as if he was a panther, gazing intently at a small animal he thought would be particularly tasty.

Harry noticed her abrupt change in mood. "Hermione, what's…" He stopped midsentence, noticing the reason she had ceased laughing. "What the hell is his problem? Come on, let's get out of here. We should go ahead and outline those Potions essays so we don't have to work too closely with our _actual _partners."

Hermione complied with him, hooking her arm with his as they exited the Great Hall. She couldn't help turning around though, and saw that Malfoy's expression had turned into a scowl.

* * *

><p>Hermione couldn't concentrate on her in-class Charms assignment. Professor Flitwick was looking at her expectantly, as she normally worked ahead and was beyond the class. She stared hopelessly at the eagle in front of her, who was looking at her angrily. Instead of using the proper Talon-Clipping charm that they were learning (which, she really couldn't understand the purpose. She wasn't Hagrid, she didn't plan on keeping many animals with talons in her care), she had scorched its feet.<p>

"I'm so sorry, Professor," she exclaimed, as the eagle nipped at her hand in anger. "I don't know where my head is today."

"That's okay, I suppose, Ms. Granger. We all have our off days," Flitwick nodded encouragingly. "Class, I trust you will work on this spell before the next lesson, and because you seem to be having so much trouble with it, I would like an essay a foot in length about the proper technique." The class groaned at this.

Hermione gathered her belongings quickly and raced out of the room. As she hurried down the corridor, she was lost in thought and didn't hear her friends call out to her to wait up. She took a detour, and instead of going to the common room she headed to the library to see where she had gone wrong with the spell (_and maybe to look up a thought-clearing potion, _she thought to herself).

Alas, she did not expect the distraction that came her way in the form of a tall blonde male in a green tie leaving the library as she was trying to enter it.

"Malfoy," she nodded towards him, determined to not let him affect her as he had done that morning.

"Granger," he said welcomingly, grinning. "I was just looking for that bushy head of yours. Shall we?" He gestured towards a private corner in the library where she frequently sat alone, studying. Today though, she had no intention of sitting there if it was in the company of Draco Malfoy.

"Shall we what?" she said coldly, hoping he took the hint. Malfoy was never one for subtlety, though, and disregarded her frigidity towards him.

"The Potions essay, of course. Not that you need that particular potion, I see," with this comment, he looked her up and down as she blushed, "but we should probably get it done."

"I can do it myself and put your name on it later, thanks."

"Oh, but that's no fun. What's wrong, Granger? Do I make you uncomfortable?" he kept inching closer and closer to her, too close. She could smell his cologne and hated that she wanted to smell more of it, be closer to him.

"N-no. Of course not. Alright, then. Let's get this damn thing done." She led them to a table in the center of the library instead of the secluded area. She figured that Malfoy couldn't try anything funny when they were directly in front of the frightening librarian, Madame Pince.

Instead of sitting directly across the table from her, Malfoy took the chair beside her and scooted it extremely close (_much too damn close_), so that she could smell his cologne again.

"Personal space, Malfoy." But he didn't move. "I'm serious."

"Judging by the way you stutter, Granger, I do make you uncomfortable. Come on, just admit it."

"Where is your book? Mine is in the dormitory, and if you don't have yours then there's no point in us being here," she stated bluntly, dodging his question. Yes he did make her uncomfortable, but there was no way she was going to let him know it. _Pull yourself together, Granger, _she thought.

Malfoy reached into his bag and pulled out his copy of _Advanced Potion-Making._ "And here I was buying into the hype that you were ultra-prepared and organized. Tsk tsk, Miss Granger…" He grinned at her, but mercifully scooted his chair away and gave her some space.

They worked quietly, with her doing much of the writing and only occasionally asking him to look something up in the book about the potion. After 45 minutes, they had completed the essay and Hermione believed she was home free…until the next Potions class at least. But Malfoy had other ideas as they were getting up to leave the library.

"Care for a stroll, Granger?"

She was caught completely off-guard. "What the hell, Malfoy? What is your problem?"

Malfoy took a step back from her, taken aback. "My _problem? _I thought I was being nice to you, but if you're going to react like that then maybe I'll just keep my distance! I don't know why I expected more from _your _type."

"My type!" Hermione shrieked, earning a glare from the librarian. "Sorry," she said, lowering her voice. "What the bloody hell do you mean, _my type?" _

Malfoy flashed her his signature smirk, acting as if he was unaffected by her outburst. "Oh, you know exactly what I mean. You're pretty, Granger, but blood never lies, does it? Well, knowing you don't have manners makes it easier. I don't have to court you at all. There's one thing you're good for, and I plan on having you. Soon."

With this, he quickly left her, and tears stung her eyes. _He couldn't have meant…no. There's no way. _But he had looked so, for lack of a better word, hurt, when she had rejected his offer to walk. Why had she done that?

_Harry would have killed me. Ron, too, if he even noticed. Why was he trying to be nice? And what did he mean, 'court me'? _

Most frustrating of all, she wouldn't have minded a walk with him. Her mouth just kept getting in the way.

She looked longingly down the corridor where he had disappeared.

_Having me? _


End file.
